House GOP impeaches Mayorkas after previous vote failure

House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, making him the first Cabinet secretary since 1876 to be impeached by the House.

A week after a first attempt that fell short and caused heartburn for GOP leadership, Mayorkas was impeached in a second vote, 214-213.

The Senate is all but guaranteed to sidestep it, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's office saying the articles will be presented after the upcoming recess with senators sworn in as jurors shortly after. Lawmakers predicted they could quickly dismiss the charges of betraying the public trust and refusing to comply with the law. The Senate is not expected to spend much time on the trial.

Three Republicans defected on the impeachment effort: Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), who all also voted “no” last week. But GOP leaders were able to revive the articles against Mayorkas with Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) return this week after treatment for blood cancer.

The vote comes on the same day that Republicans are trying to hold onto expelled Rep. George Santos’s seat. If Democrats flip the seat, that would likely have put impeaching Mayorkas just out of reach until special elections later this year.

The eventual success caps off months of Republican work to impeach Mayorkas, after they were caught flat footed last week when Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) showed up from the hospital to cast his no vote. Republicans, while acknowledging their own dysfunction, quickly tried to salvage the situation by noting they would impeach the Homeland Security chief as soon as Scalise returned.

The GOP views the border as a unifying issue in their raucous conference and an easy cudgel against Democrats as they head toward November. They’ve been building up support for the historic step for months, while also scuttling a bipartisan border plan in the Senate — raising the likelihood that legislation to address spiking migrant crossings isn’t signed into law this year.

In a statement after the vote, Speaker Mike Johnson said Mayorkas "deserves to be impeached." "Since this Secretary refuses to do the job that the Senate confirmed him to do, the House must act," the speaker added.

But even as GOP leaders tried to convince their colleagues to support impeaching Mayorkas, the effort wasn’t guaranteed. Last week it appeared to be on the verge of collapse as several Republicans remained on-the-fence just hours before the vote. Though leadership managed to win over nearly all of them, they still fell short because of opposition from Gallagher, Buck and McClintock, alongside full attendance from House Democrats.

Gallagher announced his plans to retire days after the vote, and Buck also plans to leave the House at the end of this term.

The GOP’s impeachment push has sparked pushback from the administration, typical GOP constitutional allies and congressional Democrats — and is already being turned against Biden-district Republicans up for reelection. In a post-vote statement, President Joe Biden said, "History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship."

“House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border," DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said in a statement. "While Secretary Mayorkas was helping a group of Republican and Democratic Senators develop bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security and get needed resources for enforcement, House Republicans have wasted months with this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment."

Gallagher, Buck and McClintock each raised concerns that the Mayorkas impeachment didn’t meet the bar laid out under the Constitution — a concern from GOP-aligned constitutional experts who publicly urged Republicans against taking the step heading into last week’s vote.

The Department of Homeland Security, in a new memo on Tuesday, also made a final push to sway Republicans against impeaching Mayorkas, writing that they should “listen to their fellow Republicans and stop wasting time on this pointless, unconstitutional impeachment.”

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GOP senators continue break with Trump as foreign aid approaches final passage

Senate Republican Ukraine advocates swept away a last-minute cavalcade of attacks on Monday evening, defeating a conservative filibuster of the $95 billion aid package and putting it on a glide path to clearing the chamber.

The 66-33 vote advanced the bill toward final passage, which is expected to take place by midweek, if not earlier. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has objected to moving forward more quickly, and conservative opponents have used the delay to throw the proverbial kitchen sink at the proposal.

Those attacks are taking their toll, to an extent: 39 Senate Republicans supported a standalone $40 billion Ukraine bill two years ago, a number that’s now roughly sliced in half. That reflects the sustained attacks on Ukraine by GOP opponents, including former President Donald Trump, whose verbal assaults carry more weight by the day as he marches toward the Republican nomination.

Still, those fusillades have almost certainly failed to stop passage in the Democratic-controlled Senate. There's no such guarantee over in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the bill Monday, casting doubt on its future.

“There are chaotic times. And as a support of Ukraine, Israel and our industrial base, it’s adequate. It’s good enough,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) of the Republican support in the Senate.

It’s been roughly 14 months since Congress approved new funding for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s attacks and the latest tranche is expected to pass the Senate just ahead of the Munich Security Conference, which focuses on threats to international security.

Once a hawkish party that attacked Democrats for being weak on funding national security, now the GOP is split between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s more interventionist views and those of Trump, who said any more money to Ukraine needs to take the form of a loan. And the run-up to the vote reflected the intense tension in the Republican Party over continuing to fund Ukraine, which receives roughly $60 billion under the legislation. The rest is destined for Taiwan, Israel and humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

Ukraine opponents met late Monday evening and came out resolving to to delay the bill as long as they can, even if it requires holding the Senate floor overnight. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said they will use as "much time as we can" on the Senate floor.

"We're not helping Ukraine at this point in time. We're fueling a bloody stalemate. It makes no sense," Johnson said after the meeting.

Trump spent the weekend railing against the bill and said he would not defend NATO allies who did not fulfill spending commitments under the international agreement, comments which splits Republicans. A group of conservative senators took to the Senate floor Monday afternoon to denounce the bill; later in the day, some joined Elon Musk on a social media channel to continue the attacks.

On the social media channel, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) questioned the spending pointedly: "This thing still has about $8 billion going directly to the Government of Ukraine. They are not choirboys."

And in a sign of conservatives' fervent pressure campaign to kill the package, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) argued in a Monday morning memo to his colleagues that Trump could be impeached again if he withholds Ukraine funding provided by the bill. Ukraine supporters rebuffed Vance’s argument, but it was picked up across the right-leaning media ecosystem.

“First of all, Trump has to get elected president. Second, Democrats have to get the House. And then they have to think this is the only thing they could use to impeach Donald Trump,” said retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who voted to convict the former president in both impeachment trials. “I can assure you that if Donald Trump becomes president and the Democrats get the House, they'll be able to find many opportunities to impeach Donald Trump if they wish.”

Amid the crosscurrents, some Republicans were deliberating over their final vote, with some still pushing for certain amendment votes in exchange for their approval. That's been severely complicated by Paul’s unwillingness to speed up the process, since Democrats are reluctant to allow amendments without expediting passage.

That led to some GOP senators voting against moving the bill forward. On Monday, some of them were still assessing their vote on final passage of a massive national security spending bill with no border components — sending it to an uncertain fate in the House — after the bipartisan border deal fell apart last week.

“My goal is to be a yes. But also remembering there’s another stage to this, and that’s the House of Representatives. And so we need to help them,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). “Otherwise, there’s no point in just making a point.”

Speaker Johnson made clear he cares little for the Senate bill in a statement on Monday evening. Though he rejected the Senate's bipartisan border negotiations last week, he criticized the Senate's bill for lacking a border component.

It's just the latest sign of uncertainty for Ukraine aid. Johnson said "the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters. America deserves better than the Senate’s status quo.”

Anthony Adragna contributed to this report.

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GOP impeachment investigators want special counsel’s Biden records

House Republican investigators leading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden are pressing for more details on his interview with Robert Hur as part of the special counsel’s classified documents investigation.

Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) and Ways & Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday, asking for any records, including recordings, related to Biden’s interview with Hur’s team. They also want classified documents identified in the report related to Ukraine.

In addition to the documents request, House Republicans are in talks with Hur to have him testify about his report, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

House Republicans are giving the Justice Department until 5 p.m. on Feb. 19 to hand over the requested materials. Otherwise, they warned, GOP lawmakers are “prepared to compel the production of this material if necessary” via a subpoena. They are also requesting any communication between the Justice Department, Biden’s personal counsel and the White House about the special counsel report.

“For our investigatory purposes, the Committees require certain records relating to Mr. Hur’s investigation and report,” the three GOP lawmakers wrote to Garland.

They added that they “require this transcript and any other records of this interview, including, but not limited to, any recordings, notes, or summaries of the interview.”

The Justice Department released Hur’s report last week, which found that criminal charges against Biden wouldn’t be warranted even if DOJ lacked an internal policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Hur’s investigation found evidence that Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency,” the report states, but it didn’t “establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Congressional Republicans have also emphasized the report’s descriptions of Biden, including that he would be perceived in any court proceedings as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” Comer called last week for the Justice Department to provide access to classified documents referenced in the report, as well as release the transcript with Biden. But Monday’s letter is the first formal request for information since the report’s release.

Biden has denied that he improperly shared classified information. Hur’s report alleges that he shared it with a ghostwriter. The president and other Democrats have also publicly criticized Hur’s descriptions of Biden’s memory.

Richard Sauber, a special counsel to the president, and Bob Bauer, Biden’s personal counsel, sent a joint letter to Hur last week asking that he revise his descriptions of Biden's memory “so that they are stated in a manner that is within the bounds of your expertise and remit.”

In addition to the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden — which has largely focused on the business deals of his family members, but also delved into his handling of classified documents and the years-long federal investigation into Hunter Biden — Republicans said in their letter on Monday that they also needed the information for a separate investigation into the federal investigation of former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents.

Republicans have tried to draw an apples-to-apples comparison of Biden’s and Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, arguing that the Justice Department’s decision not to charge Biden but to pursue charges against Trump is an example of a politicized justice system.

But Hur’s report draws a contrast between the two cases, noting that Trump allegedly refused to return classified documents for months while Biden turned in the classified documents and cooperated with the investigation.

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Vance: Foreign aid bill could get Trump impeached

Another Donald Trump impeachment over Ukraine funding? Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance says it’s a possibility, if the $95 billion emergency foreign aid spending bill becomes law and Trump wins the election.

Vance distributed a memo to Senate GOP offices on Monday arguing that the foreign aid measure could tie Trump's hands if he comes into office next year wanting to pause Ukraine funds as part of negotiations on ending Russia's war on the U.S. ally. That's because some of the legislation's funding expires nine months into the next presidency, effectively — according to Vance — handcuffing a future President Trump from making his own decisions on Ukraine spending.

Vance is one of the most outspoken opponents of Ukraine assistance, and he’s making a last-ditch effort to block the legislation before a critical vote later on Monday to end debate on the foreign aid plan, which needs 60 votes.

“The supplemental represents an attempt by the foreign policy blob/deep state to stop President Trump from pursuing his desired policy, and if he does so anyways, to provide grounds to impeach him and undermine his administration. All Republicans should oppose its passage,” reads the memo by Vance's office.

The then-Democratic House majority impeached Trump in 2019 over the then-president's move to withhold funding slated for Ukraine and pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations into Joe Biden, who defeated Trump in November 2020. The Senate acquitted Trump in early 2020.

Though the 2024 election is nine months away, Trump is trying to kill the foreign aid bill and urging the Senate to stop it. Despite that, the bill is clearly on track for passage — with just one more opportunity for the GOP to block it later on Monday. It would still need to pass the House, which is an uncertain prospect at the moment.

If the overseas aid bill does become law and Trump wins the election, Vance’s new memo argues that the incoming president could be impeached again if he “were to withdraw from or pause financial support for the war in Ukraine in order to bring the conflict to a peaceful conclusion.”

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Scalise announces return as House GOP plans Mayorkas redo

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise will return to Washington next week after undergoing treatment for blood cancer — giving Republicans a critical boost in the effort to impeach Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Scalise’s office, in a statement, said that the Louisiana Republican is in “complete remission,” “has been medically cleared to resume travel” and “will be returning to Washington next week for votes.”

House Republicans had predicted, after narrowly failing to impeach Mayorkas this week, that they would try again next week. Scalise’s return means a repeat vote could now happen as soon as Tuesday.

Republicans want to move quickly to hold a re-do vote, and for good reason: The special election to replace expelled GOP Rep. George Santos occurs on Tuesday. If Democrats are able to flip the seat it would give them 213 votes, further narrowing the GOP’s majority once Santos’ successor is sworn in.

Scalise’s office announced last month that he would be working remotely until February as he underwent treatment for blood cancer. Combined with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s end-of-the-year retirement from Congress and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) recovering from a car accident, Republicans’ already narrow majority had become paper thin.

The retirement of Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins plus Rogers’ return gave Republicans more breathing room. But the vote to impeach Mayorkas failed 214-216 after GOP leadership miscalculated Democratic attendance, with Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) leaving the hospital to cast a vote against Mayorkas’ impeachment.

Three GOP Republicans — Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.), Tom McClintock (Calif.) and Mike Gallagher (Wis.) — opposed impeaching Mayorkas, arguing that Republicans' charges of breach of trust and refusing to comply with the law didn’t meet the constitutional bar for impeachment. With Green returning to vote, that left the tally at a tie. A fourth Republican, conference vice chair Blake Moore (Utah), then flipped his vote from yes to no — a procedural step that helps Republicans bring the impeachment articles back up.

With Scalise’s return, the vote would be 216-215 in favor of impeaching Mayorkas, assuming full attendance and no one besides Moore changing their final vote. Republicans will have to ensure they have no absences during the redo to avoid another potential embarrassing flop on the floor.

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House GOP shrugs at latest dysfunction: ‘Everything’s gonna be really tenuous’

House Republicans acknowledge this week was embarrassing, with back-to-back failed votes on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and sending aid to Israel.

But instead of raging against Speaker Mike Johnson and other leaders, Republicans are responding to the unsightly spectacle with a that’s-just-life-now shrug.

Many Republican lawmakers appear to have accepted life in their tiny majority. They understand their party is dysfunctional and the House GOP has internal disagreements on just about everything. And they know that reality will haunt them until the end of the year — at least.

“Everything’s gonna be really tenuous as we go forward here, especially over the next four weeks as we try to fund the government,” said Rep. Kevin Hern, the Oklahoma Republican who leads the conservative Republican Study Committee.

He waved off questions about whether Republican leaders had fumbled the votes: “There’s obviously always going to be a story about whether the votes were whipped correctly or not."

Johnson has shown more willingness to push ahead on uncertain floor votes than some of his predecessors, a tactic that leads to more public flops. He planned to put dual spy powers bills on the floor until his conference shouted the idea down, clearly miscounted the Mayorkas impeachment vote due to full Democratic attendance and has watched as his hardliners have blocked several bills from even coming to the floor. But in this case, even some of his loudest critics declined to blame Johnson for the current mess.

Johnson is largely getting a pass on Mayorkas, particularly, because Republicans are confident they can deliver on impeachment once Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) returns, since his ongoing cancer treatment made him the only absence in a tied vote. However, GOP lawmakers aren't giving the three House Republicans who voted with Democrats on the measure the same leeway.

“I'm frustrated with three Republicans who did not vote to impeach,” said House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good (R-Va.). “Yes, it was somewhat of an embarrassment that we apparently didn't know what the count might be and that we lost that by one vote, essentially. But it seems as if we can get it done next week.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) dismissed any frustration at all, stating that the vote put her own colleagues on the record. So the base knows who blocked them from taking action on President Joe Biden’s border chief.

“We have three Republican members, one that nobody really cares about because he's retiring … [as] for the other two, (Mike) Gallagher and (Tom) McClintock, I'm sure they're hearing from their constituents and maybe they're finding out how important it is to impeach Mayorkas, even though they seem to have their own personal issues with it,” Greene told reporters Wednesday.

One House Republican, requesting anonymity to speak frankly, said the conference's vote fumbles make them look like a “monkey trying to have relations with a football." Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) lamented that Democrats seem to stick together and "we don't."

“Ken Buck is leaving. I don't understand that. He could have done it just for the Republican party," he said, referring to another Republican who voted against impeaching Mayorkas.

That isn’t to say that every Republican was excusing Johnson. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has been a frequent critic of the new GOP leader, publicly lashed out at Johnson and his supporters: “Name one thing that’s improved under the new Speaker.”

Still, most of the conference is more concerned that the public failure could be a sign of more troubles to come, with two government funding deadlines just a few weeks away. And they're not happy about giving voters more reason to think that their Republican majority isn’t able to govern, let alone fumbling their border message.

“The personality of the conference is that we want to push forward for things we truly believe in, but then we trip ourselves up over some nonsensical things from time to time,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) said, adding Republicans should be asking themselves “what are we doing right now that is going to guarantee we are going to stay in the majority.”

Johnson, who critics have previously theorized is in over his head, insisted he wasn't to blame for the twin setbacks on Wednesday, saying they were a “reflection on the body itself.”

“Last night was a setback. But democracy is messy,” he told reporters in a press conference. “You're seeing the messy sausage making the process of democracy play out. And it's not always pretty, but the job will be done at the end of the day."

And some members signaled they aren't concerned at all. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) responded that it's "like this every year" when asked about House dysfunction, and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a typical leadership critic, said he didn’t “have any beef” with Johnson bringing Mayorkas impeachment to the floor.

“If that makes us look dysfunctional, I can think of far more examples than that," Biggs added.

Any lingering irritation over the Mayorkas vote was mostly turned on Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), who ultimately opposed impeachment, despite the two other Republicans opposing the vote. Johnson and his leadership team had crowded in a circle in a corner of the House floor Wednesday evening, realizing as Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was pushed onto the House floor in a wheelchair that they didn't have the numbers.

Johnson and other leaders quickly turned their focus on the Wisconsin Republican, pressuring him to change his vote. But Gallagher, who chairs the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, refused to back down, noting that he has “consistently whipped no” on this issue. In other words, he'd told GOP leaders about his intention to vote against impeachment — they just hadn't counted on full Democratic attendance.

“I want to fix the problems at the southern border. And I want to be a team player … I felt it was a matter of principle for me,” said Gallagher, noting that he’s taken “unpopular votes before” when asked about what kind of blowback he is getting now. “I just didn't want to contradict the arguments I'd made in opposition to Trump impeachment."

As Gallagher was telling a gaggle of reporters that he respected his colleagues' difference of opinions, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), leaned into the circle and remarked to him: “I have respect for you.”

Katherine Tully-McManus contributed reporting.

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Jeffries deflects question of personal plea to Al Green on Mayorkas impeachment vote

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declined to specify whether he made a personal plea for Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) to leave his hospital bed to oppose the ultimately unsuccessful impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

"He made it clear to me that it was important for him to be present to cast a vote against the sham impeachment," Jeffries said at his weekly press conference, in response to a question about a specific ask to Green.

Jeffries also said his party didn't advise House Republicans about their attendance situation. "It's not our responsibility to let House Republicans know which members will or will not be present on the House floor," he said.

The impeachment effort against Mayorkas ultimately failed 214-216, with a handful of GOP nos joining all Democrats. Republicans have vowed to try again once Majority Leader Steve Scalise returns from cancer treatments.

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Mayorkas impeachment down to the wire as another Republican plans to vote ‘no’

Rep. Tom McClintock said on Tuesday that he will oppose impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — meaning Republicans have literally no room for error.

If Democrats have full attendance, House GOP leaders can’t afford to have any additional absences or lose a single other GOP vote.

McClintock (R-Calif.), in a lengthy letter to his colleagues, argued that the GOP articles against Mayorkas stretched how the founders would define an impeachable offense. And he warned that, if successful, Republicans were setting a precedent that Democrats might use against them in the future.

“Do Republicans really wish to establish an expansive view of impeachment that will surely be turned against conservatives on the Supreme Court or a future Republican president if Congress changes hands?” McClintock wrote.

He added that while a Cabinet official could be removed for committing a crime, that House Republicans were trying to cross a “bright line” by recommending he be removed from office for carrying out President Joe Biden’s policy decisions on the border. The articles of impeachment against Mayorkas accuse him of a breach of trust and refusing to comply with the law.

McClintock is the second GOP “no” vote in addition to Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), who announced last week that he would oppose the historic step of impeaching Mayorkas. A Cabinet official hasn’t been impeached since 1876. McClintock’s opposition, though long expected, underscores the uncertainty heading into Tuesday’s scheduled vote.

Failing to impeach Mayorkas would mark an embarrassing political setback for House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson, who have faced intense pressure from their base to impeach Biden or a top official. A failure to impeach Mayorkas could further imperil hopes to eventually impeach the president as well.

There are still several lawmakers who are still publicly undecided, including Reps. David Joyce (R-Ohio), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.). And Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s expected absence as he undergoes treatment for blood cancer. If one more holdout votes against impeaching Mayorkas and Democrats have full attendance, the measure would fail.

Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.), asked if he believed he had the votes on Tuesday, said: “We’ll see pretty soon.”

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Manchin dismisses Mayorkas impeachment

An impeachment trial for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the Senate? Not happening, says Joe Manchin.

The moderate West Virginia senator, no fan of President Joe Biden's handling of the border, dismissed the House's plans to impeach Mayorkas in a Thursday interview. The House is slated to vote on impeachment next week, but that could be the end of the story in Congress.

"It's crap. Pure crap. No trial at all, it's ridiculous. The trial will be in November. No. You start that craziness and play games and that stuff?" Manchin said. Cabinet officials "work for the president. You got a problem, go to the polls."

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to say how the Senate might handle Mayorkas' impeachment this week, but there appears to be no appetite to hold a trial, particularly among Senate Democrats.

The Senate can dismiss a trial with a simple majority of votes — and some Republicans don't want to have one either.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who is up for reelection, said he'll look at it but "it's hard for me to see what ground they are going to impeach him on."

"Are they going to impeach him because people are coming across the border? Then pass the goddamn" border bill, Tester said.

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House panel advances impeachment articles against Mayorkas

House Republicans took a critical step early Wednesday toward impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as they project confidence they’ll be able to recommend booting the Cabinet official on the House floor.

The House Homeland Security Committee voted 18-15 to advance articles of impeachment, which accuse Mayorkas of “breach of trust” and “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law.” The vote paves the way for the impeachment articles to come to the floor next week — depending on absences and if Republicans can shore up a swath of undecided members.

Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) has publicly been cagey about whether he’ll ultimately be able to impeach Mayorkas. But he was overheard Monday night saying that he has the votes — a prediction he also made during a recent TV interview.

However, it’s still not clear they currently have the necessary near-unanimous support. Given united Democratic opposition and an incredibly thin majority, Republicans can only afford to lose two votes at full attendance. Green is expected to meet with some of the holdouts this week. And Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said leadership will also check in with members this week, but that he “imagined” they will ultimately have the votes.

Impeaching Mayorkas from office would be a historic step — a Cabinet official has only been impeached once before, in 1876 — but would certainly end without a conviction in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Lawmakers in the upper chamber are currently trying to negotiate a border security deal with the Biden administration, including Mayorkas, which House Republicans have repeatedly signaled they plan to spike.

“We are here today not because we want to be but because we have exhausted all other options. … Secretary Mayorkas’ actions have forced our hand,” Green said during Tuesday’s committee meeting.

Republicans’ charges against Mayorkas include: He didn’t uphold immigration laws, exceeded his authority, risked public safety, made false statements to Congress and obstructed congressional oversight as well as the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Mayorkas, in a letter to Green on Tuesday morning, called those allegations “baseless and inaccurate.” And he defended the department, saying that DHS has “provided Congress and your committee hours of testimony, thousands of documents, hundreds of briefings and much more information that demonstrates quite clearly how we are enforcing the law.”

The right flank has exerted intense pressure on House Republicans to impeach President Joe Biden or a top administration official. A previous attempt to impeach Mayorkas last year failed, when firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) forced the matter to the House floor. Eight GOP lawmakers voted to refer the matter to Green’s committee, which was already conducting a long-term investigation into Mayorkas.

Most of those eight are expected to back impeaching Mayorkas now. But Republicans view two as their most likely “no” votes: Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.). McClintock told reporters Tuesday that he was waiting to see what came out of the committee, but has previously warned that he didn’t think Mayorkas’ behavior met the bar of an impeachable offense. Buck, meanwhile, described himself as a "lean no."

And there are other undecided votes outside those eight, as well, including Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) and David Joyce (R-Ohio). Newhouse told POLITICO on Monday night that he was waiting to see what came out of the committee, while Joyce is expected to meet with Green on Wednesday.

But leadership picked up at least one notable flip on Monday night when Biden-district Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who had been undecided, told reporters that he would now back impeaching Mayorkas.

“I think there’s been a dereliction of duty. There’s laws that have not been complied with and we’re suffering one of the worst crises in our country,” Bacon said.

Many of those holdouts had expressed skepticism that investigators have met the bar of a high crime or misdemeanor, a concern shared by legal scholars. Democrats have staunchly opposed attempts to impeach Mayorkas, laying out that argument in a 29-page report they released on Monday pre-butting the committee’s vote.

“House Republicans have produced no evidence that Secretary Mayorkas has broken the law. This is a political stunt and a hit job ordered by two people: Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Monday.

Olivia Beavers contributed reporting.

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